Terror threat must not be downplayed – Ablakwa

Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has said the recent extremist attack in neighbouring Burkina Faso should remind Ghana of the need to remain on alert in order to avert such attacks in the country.

His comment comes on the heels of a recent terror attack in neighbouring Burkina Faso where 20 people were killed and a number wounded in the centre of the capital city, Ouagadougou, on Monday, 14 August 2017.

Speaking to Class news, Mr Ablakwa, who is also the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, said he was not surprised by the events since the UK and Canadian authorities had issued an alert to their citizens in Burkina Faso.

He bemoaned that a similar alert on Ghana was downplayed by authorities and noted that it is important government took such alert serious.

“It brings back the issue that when travel advisory are issued to [foreign] citizens in a country, any country that tries to downplay it and try to as it were, say that, it is just a standard information so let it be discounted and all of that, this should remind us that no country is immune and that when other countries are warning their nationals, we also have to be ensuring that our citizens are safe and the necessary steps that needs to be taken to enhance security are carried out,” he stated.

The lawmaker added: “We should not adopt an attitude which is dismissive or an attitude that downplays these travel advises. I have checked the travel advisory for Burkina Faso and it’s not too different from what has been issued on Ghana, and so this is another reminder that we should take this terrorism threat very seriously. It is now very close to us, Burkina Faso is a neighbor, and these people [terrorists] are always on the move.”

Meanwhile, security analyst and international relations expert, Irbard Ibrahim, has allayed fears of a possible terror attack in the country.

Mr Ibrahim argues that such threats would not come close to Ghana since there is no motivation and interest from religious extremists to do so and that recent terror attacks appear to be taking trends in only francophone countries.

Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com/91.3FM